


Don't Forget

by kaywritesthings



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Amnesia, Car Accidents, Flashbacks, M/M, Post canon, Post musical, Serious Injuries, Temporary Amnesia, bc he couldn't be completely alone right???, jake's aunt is legit just someone i made up, richjake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-18 11:51:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15485130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaywritesthings/pseuds/kaywritesthings
Summary: Jake can't remember anything about the past four years of his life. He can't remember any of his friends, and most importantly, he can't remember Rich. Rich has to fill in the gaps.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea floating around for a while. Let me know how you guys like it! Kudos & comments are always appreciated!
> 
> EDIT: I added a little more to this chapter. Sorry!

It was a normal day when it happened. It was just like any other Saturday morning. Rich spent that Friday night at Jake’s house, so they could play video games (and yeah, probably make out a little). They lounged on his bed all night, playing round after round of Mario Kart and similar games. This was Rich’s favorite part of the week. Favorite part of his life, actually. Where he could forget about his dad and his life and just spend the weekend with someone he loved. 

When Rich woke up, though, Jake was not there. Usually, this wouldn’t be that big of a problem. But Jake left a note, saying that he went to the store and should be back before eleven. It was one, now. Usually Jake would be home, and he would have dragged Rich out of the house to go to the beach or something. At first, Rich figured that Jake miswrote it and meant one. Then one became two. Two became three. And Rich was having a panic attack in Jake’s bedroom.

Then, at three-thirty, the phone rang. Rich had never gotten up faster in his life. He scrambled down the stairs to the kitchen. After the fire, Jake had used the insurance money combined with his aunt’s small wealth to get a little condo. It was cute, and Jake liked it much better than the giant house he had before. It felt more homey, he said.

Rich grabbed the receiver and held it up to his ear. “Hello?”

“Rich?” The second Jake’s aunt’s voice came in through the receiver, Rich knew that something awful had happened. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”

 

A car accident. That’s why Jake was gone for god-knows-how-long. At an intersection coming home, a driver who wasn’t paying attention hit him right in the driver’s side. The call had took so long because Jake’s aunt hadn’t realized that Rich was waiting for him at the house, but once she did, she came to pick him up.

Rich sat in the waiting room, his head in his hands. No visitors were allowed in Jake’s room yet-- he’d had to have emergency surgery to remove shrapnel from his head. The head injuries were the worst, they said, he was lucky to be alive. The concept of Jake  _ not  _ being alive made Rich’s stomach do flips and his head turn foggy. Jake was everything Rich had. Jake understood Rich’s family problems, and he willingly let Rich stay with him as often as he wanted, even before they started dating. If Rich was religious, he’d think Jake was an angel.

Rich glanced at his phone. It kept vibrating over and over, messages from his friends.

 

_ [Chloe said to group “Squad™”]: guys what happened to jake????? _

_ [Chloe said to group “Squad™”]: i just got a text from his aunt saying he got in a car accident??? _

_ [Chloe said to group “Squad™”]: rich???? _

_ [Rich said to group “Squad™”]: yeah. im at the hospital rn. _

_ [Brooke said to group “Squad™”]: WHAT??? _

_ [Jenna said to group “Squad™”]: no shit!!!!! is he okay??????? _

_ [Rich said to group “Squad™”]: hes alive _

_ [Rich said to group “Squad™”]: i dont know much more they wont let me in _

_ [Jenna said to group “Squad™”]: fuck dude, are you okay?? _

_ [Jeremy said to group “Squad™”]: ??? _

_ [Michael said to group “Squad™”]: omfg what _

_ [Christine said to group “Squad™”]: rich!!!! do you want me to come to the hospital with you????? _

_ [Chloe said to group “Squad™”]: yeah we’ll come help you _

_ [Jeremy said to group “Squad™”]: fuck me and michael are out of town _

_ [Michael said to group “Squad™”]: we love you man, keep us updated holy shit _

_ [Rich said to group “Squad™”]: no one come i cant have a lot of people around rn _

 

Rich sighed. He was momentarily confused as to why Jake’s aunt would have texted Chloe, then remembered that they still are pretty close and they dated for a while. 

 

_ [Brooke]: hey rich. _

_ [Brooke]: after i get out of work, do you want me to swing by and give you a coffee? on me. i get them free since i work so late tonight. _

_ [Rich]: what time? _

_ [Brooke]: 10 _

_ [Rich]: yeah. yes please. _

 

Rich could always count on Brooke. Next to Jake, he was actually closest with her. She was sweet and friendly and kind, albeit a little naive sometimes. For a while, before everything went down with the Squips, he even had a little bit of a crush on her. It was times like this, though, that he was especially grateful that she worked at Dunkin’ Donuts. After all, he didn’t know how late he would end up being there. He didn’t know when or if they were gonna let him see Jake, and that pained him.

“Hey, kiddo,” a voice said. Rich looked up, to see Jake’s aunt standing there. Her name was Bridget, and she was a rather tall, professional-looking woman. Despite her height, she always wore high heels. Her makeup was smudged on her face, as if she’d been crying. Rich didn’t blame her. If he weren’t in public, he’d be breaking down. He was never a huge fan of showing his emotions.

Bridget embraced him tightly, and he sighed. In a way, she reminded him of his own mother. The resemblance almost made him upset.

“C-Can I go in ye-yet?” He stuttered.  _ Fuck,  _ he thought.  _ I can’t even fucking speak _ .

“Not yet. But he’s okay. Just unconscious. They say he should be awake by morning, but there’s really no telling. Once he wakes up, then they’ll let you in.” She paused. “Honey, you should really go home. Or at least back to the condo.”

“No,” Rich spoke without a second thought. “I want to stay. I  _ have  _ to stay. What if--What if he wakes up, and I’m not here?”

Bridget placed her hands on Rich’s shoulders and sighed. “If he wakes up, I’ll call you.”

“Can-Can I just stay a little longer?” He pleaded. She nodded slowly.

“Okay. But you’re leaving by midnight so you can get some sleep.”

 

Brooke arrived at 10:30. Rich had been sitting in the waiting room for almost eight hours now, only getting up to get shitty food from the cafe and go to the bathroom. He even slept for a little bit, but woke up after a nightmare about Jake dying.

“Hey!” Brooke gave Rich a sympathetic smile. She held a tray with a few coffees, and a box of munchkins. She put them down and pulled Rich into a hug. 

“Hi,” Rich mumbled, hugging her back. She sat down next to him and handed him one of the coffees. 

“Here. Got your favorite.”

“Thanks.”

They were silent for a few minutes. Brooke placed a comforting hand on Rich’s shoulder, unsure of what else to do. 

“It’s getting late, Rich. Do you want me to drive you home? I’ll give you a ride back in the morning, too, if you want. You’re not staying with your dad, right?” She asked. Rich shook his head. He appreciated how much his friends wanted to keep him away from his father. He was an alcoholic, and he had been since Rich was a kid. Since his mom died. And with his brother away in the army, he had no one to really protect him against him.

“Jake’s aunt said I could stay in the condo still,” he said softly. Brooke nodded.

“Well, I’m bringing you back, then. You’ve been here all day, you need rest. And if Jake wakes up in the middle of the night, I’ll drive you here, too.”

“Okay.” Rich sighed and looked at Brooke. Why was she so goddamn nice all the time? “Thanks, Brooke.”

“‘Course.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake finally wakes up, but he’s different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies if my medical information isn’t entirely accurate. I did the best I could!
> 
> As always, kudos & comments are appreciated!

Rich couldn’t sleep. As hard as he tried, he could only toss and turn. The bed felt so empty without Jake next to him, and every time he moved was a grim reminder that his boyfriend was in the hospital.

 

_ [Rich said to group “Squad™”]: is anyone up? _

 

Rich looked at the clock. 1am already? He waited for a response. And waited. And waited. To no avail. He sighed and tossed his phone aside, staring at the ceiling. 

After what felt like forever, he finally managed to fall asleep, clutching one of Jake’s sweatshirts.

 

The next morning seemed to drag on forever, until Jake’s aunt picked Rich up to bring him to the hospital. He was allowed in, now, but Jake still wasn’t awake.

Rich sat in the rather uncomfortable chair, clutching Jake’s hand like it was his lifeline. He wore Jake’s football jersey: a dark blue one with the number  _ 25  _ imprinted on both sides, along with  _ DILLINGER  _ on the back. It was a little big, given Jake’s height, but Rich didn’t give a shit. 

Jake looked awful. He had twenty stitches in his head, spanning across his forehead. The doctor said less stitches meant less of a scar, and Rich hoped he was right. Jake wouldn’t like having a nasty scar on his face. His eyes were closed, and if Rich didn’t know any better he’d think he was just asleep. A light blanket was draped over his lap, and his right arm was in a cast. 

Rich felt somehow responsible. If he had been awake, if he had been able to go with him...maybe it wouldn’t have happened. Or at least Rich would be in there with Jake. It would be better than sitting alone in a room that smelled like hand sanitizer, praying that his boyfriend would wake up.

 

It was around 9:20 when Jake finally opened his eyes. Rich was beside himself with joy— he didn’t even know what to say. He could only grab Jake’s hand, words spilling out of his mouth.

“Jake oh my god you’re awake oh my god baby I’m so so sorry I was so scared you’re awake fuck–” he breathed all at once. “Your aunt is out getting us breakfast, but holy shit.”

“Huh?” Jake looked confused. His green eyes were wide, and his brow was furrowed. He pulled his hand away from Rich (it hurt his feelings a little, but he didn’t care). He glanced down at his cast, and felt his forehead with his functioning hand.

“What...What happened?” He groaned. 

“You got into a car accident,” Rich explained slowly. He tried to keep his voice calm, despite the overwhelming emotions. Jake blinked a few times, and squinted.

“Who...are you?”

All at once, Rich felt his world collapsing around him. His heart sank and his eyes filled with tears. No. This had to be some sort of sick joke that Jake was playing. 

“Wh-What?” He managed to stutter. Jake repeated the question, and Rich realized that this was not, in fact, a joke. 

“I-I’m–” Rich stumbled over his words. “Jake, it’s Rich. I’m your boyfriend. You don’t...remember me?”

“My boyfriend,” Jake echoed. “No, I...don’t remember a whole lot.”

Rich stood up. “I have to go.”

 

The doctor talked to Jake for what felt like forever. Rich waited outside with Jake’s aunt, the two of them silent. Neither seemed to know what to say. After about two hours of conducting various tests, the doctor walked out. He sat next to Jake’s aunt and spoke carefully, as if treading on ice.

“I’m afraid to say that Jake is suffering from temporarily graded retrograde amnesia,” he explained. “Retrograde amnesia is essentially when the sufferer can’t remember things before a certain date. It seems like Jake can’t remember things from the past four or so years.”

Four years. Great. The exact amount of time that Rich has known Jake, is the same amount of time that Jake can’t remember. 

“Will he ever remember anything?” Bridget asked. The doctor nodded.

“Well, yes. But we’re not sure how long it will be before he does remember,” he explained. “The best thing to do is set him up with a therapist, and have the two of you talk to him. That could help jog his memory a little bit.”

“Okay.” Rich nodded slowly. “So...if I tell him about the things he doesn’t remember, it could help him  _ actually _ remember?”

“Essentially.”

“How long will he have to stay here?” Bridget asked. The doctor pursed his lips.

“Another night or two. We won’t keep him until he remembers, but he’s still pretty heavily injured. He can have the stitches taken out in about a week, and we’ll continue checking on the broken bone,” he said. “You’ll have to take him to see the therapist at least once daily. I know it’s a big commitment, but the brain is very fragile.”

“I understand,” Bridget said.

 

That night, Bridget went home to try and get some rest, considering she hadn’t left since the day prior. Rich cautiously entered Jake’s room. Jake was watching TV, flipping through the channels. When he saw Rich, he gave him a small smile.

“Hey...um, you’re Rich, right?” He asked, shifting so he was sitting up more. Rich nodded and sat down next to the bed.

“The doctor said I should explain to you the things from the past few years,” Rich said gently. He was suddenly hyper aware of his lisp, given that Jake didn’t remember he had one, much less him as a person. “So, um...does that sound okay?”

Jake nodded and shut off the TV. “Okay.”

“So, I’ll start at the beginning…”


End file.
